Banishment
by Balin Lord of Moria
Summary: What was it like for a Paladin to pass into banishment? This is the experience of Katie, the first banished Paladin.
**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to _The Quest_. Court Five and Green Harbor Productions own it.

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If nothing else, it wasn't a painful sensation, walking into the banishment door of the Fates Hall, Katie noticed.

She had just become the first Paladin to be banished after failing both Sir Ansgar's challenge with the scorpions and the Fates' redemptive challenge, as well as losing the banishment vote to Patrick when only Ashley and Katie's friend Lina stood behind her, with everyone else standing behind Patrick. At least, Katie took some comfort in the fact that Lina kept her word to support her and didn't betray her trust.

"Place your piece of the Sunspear into the altar," said Solas, the oriental Fate, gesturing to the altar in front of her and the other two Fates.

Katie stepped up and placed her Sunspear piece into one of the holes in the altar, beside the ornate spear point that was erected in it, too. Then Talmuh, the bald, black Fate, said to Katie, "Paladin. Meet your fate." She pointed out the banishment door to Katie's left. Karu, the white, blonde Fate, was silent.

Knowing there was no other option, Katie walked into the doorway. She felt herself disappearing into smoke as she passed through. As already stated, she felt no pain, but it was an odd sensation nonetheless. She felt as if her spirit was departing from her body, though she wasn't sure if that actually was what was happening. All things became dark around her. She could feel her Paladin uniform coming off as if an invisible force was stripping her, and her braided hair became loose and flowed behind her. Only her glasses stayed with her.

It was like Katie was passing through a dark tunnel with the light of the Fates Hall fading behind her, only there was no light at the end of the tunnel. As she "swam" into a universe without stars, her mind seemed to go empty, blocking her memory entirely, making her like an amnesiac. The blankness seemed like a void, and she couldn't do anything. Her senses were utterly taken from her, and she had no way of knowing how much time had passed before it ended.

And then, finally, the journey ended for her. Katie awoke in a black window in the Fates Hall. She was dressed in a dark, dull cloak, which seemed to be her "uniform of banishment." Her hair was down, but she still wore her glasses. Most of her memory had returned, though. She didn't know it, but her body was in grayscale. Through the window, she could see whoever visited the Fates and whatever happened there. Her other senses, however, had not returned. She could not smell, she could not taste, she could not even hear. And she also could not speak, show feeling or emotions. All she was capable of doing was to stare at the inside of the hall, and think to herself about what went on.

Katie couldn't express herself, but she could think about how, "punishing," this was. She was the first Paladin to be banished, and she felt like a failure. And now she was stuck in this position for God knows how long. She didn't know if this was temporary or permanent, or how long it would go on if it was temporary. After failing Sir Ansgar, and her team, so badly, the proud part of her felt so humiliated by achieving nothing but a straight failure on the Quest.

And she also had a feeling that things were going to get a bit moodier when more Paladins joined her in banishment and experienced what she did. Nobody was going to enjoy this. Deep down, she hoped that her good friend, Lina, would win, but it wasn't going to be easy, watching the achiever of the Quest, whoever he or she was, standing in triumph with the Sunspear while his or her fellow Paladins rotted in the Fates' windows for so long.

Little did she know, however, as more Paladins joined her in those windows, going through the same strange, supernatural experience, that ultimately, when the One True Hero was chosen, the Sunspear's power would save them all from this living hell.


End file.
